Sebastian borensztein: exclusive interview

Critically acclaimed at the 2011 Rome Film Festival, where it won both the Audience Award and the Marco Aurelio Award for the best film, “A cuento chino” has finally arrived in the italian theaters. The film, by the Argentine director Sebastian Borensztein, tells the story of two men who find each other living together in Buenos Aires by chance: Roberto, an ironmonger’s clerk, and Jun, a Chinese man in search of a long lost uncle.

On the occasion of his Italian debut, our editorial staff has been able to track down the director and ask him some questions about his work.

– How did the idea of the movie originate?

Sebastian: I read the story of the “falling cow” (some cows were lifted into the air by a tornado in Argentina and dropped in another field) on the newspapers and I immediately said to myself: “That’s going to be the first scene of my next movie”. After that, I started thinking of a plot that could justify this surreal opening sequence.

– How did your life change after your success at the Rome Film Festival?

S: Well…prizes don’t really change my life but, of course, it felt really good. I was honored to receive two Marco Aurelio Awards: the Italian audience is great and the Festival was fantastic.

– After working many years in television, you’ve decided to produce a movie for the big screen. How did you get into the film industry?

S: I wanted to tell stories in a different format, in the deeper and more precious format that movies are. Also, I wanted to work on a project with more time and “specificity”.

–How do you work on set with the actors?

S: I let them experiment and find their own personal style.

– What are the differences between television and cinema sets?

S: The perception, or maybe the feeling, of making a unique piece of art.